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I just finished filling in some upcoming events on my calendar, and I've been doing phone-in discussions with book clubs. It's a lot of fun for me and, I believe, for the club members. I get to hear their theories on the true crime cases I cover and the plots and characters in my mysteries; the readers ask questions and hear the stories behind the books. So it's a win-win situation, at least from my perspective.

Over the years, I've found that when I talk to groups there are some questions that nearly always get asked. One is: What's it like to interview someone who's committed a brutal murder?

Well, I've been doing that for a very long time. I started out visiting prisons when I worked for magazines in the Eighties and Nineties. In fact, I have a Rolling Stone article out on Kindle right now called Blues & Bad Blood. The cost is a whopping $0.99. At 6,000 words, it's always been one of my favorite magazine pieces. I think it's the mix of music and murder that makes the case so fascinating.

When I worked on that particular case, I traveled Texas over a period of two weeks interviewing four men convicted of two horrible murders, Read More

Good blog explaining the process and your feelings in doing these difficult interviews.

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Ron Wright

February 23, 2011 5:31 AM EST

I think most people wonder How could they do that? especially the families of the victims. I believe your true crime stories and the courage you have to face these killers truly benefits the families of the victims; to help them find closure on such an awful tragedy

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Kay Huck

February 23, 2011 5:39 AM EST

I must get this article. Wow Kathryn!

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Dee Dee

February 23, 2011 7:38 AM EST

Good blog Kathryn! Don't know how you do what you do..

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Darla

February 23, 2011 8:10 AM EST

I love reading your true crime stories! Thanks for sharing this article with some insight on your interviews.

Introducing the rest of our panel: Ben Rehder (left) author of Holy Moly and other mysteries; Frances Ray, who writes women's fiction; that's me in the background, and on the right, Kathleen Kent, author of The Heretic's Daughter